


Play her

by hellokafkiana



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Eurus’s incapacity to mind her own business, F/M, Post Season 4, and we love her for this, for Eurus at least, maybe not for Sherlock, the adlock yacht, this is going to be fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 12:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9607136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellokafkiana/pseuds/hellokafkiana
Summary: “Play her.”“Her?”“Your girlfriend”“The woman is not my girlfriend”“But you would like her to be”or Eurus’s incapacity to mind her own business, not that we disapprove





	1. Your girlfriend

It’s a Sunday afternoon the first time Eurus brought her up.  
Their parents had just left, and Mycroft was trapped in London for some affairs of States. Sherlock had never expected his older brother to trust him so much but apparently, eventually, he had decided to trust Sherlock enough to let him handle Eurus also on his own. Not that it was an easy task, her Sister was staring at him, and he couldn’t read what her intentions might have been, then she suddenly hissed something.

“Play her.”  
“Her?” Sherlock ask confused and hoping to be wrong  
“Your girlfriend” Euros replied with a smirk  
“The woman is not my girlfriend” Sherlock replied with the flattest tone ever, trying to be as neutral as possible but his sister noticed how his voice slightly cracked at the world not so she smiled in victory before whispering “But you would like her to be”

Sherlock stopped that conversation that day playing a new Theme. Sadly for him, Eurus never lost interest in Irene and their relationship.

One time, a couple of months later, Eurus noticed something in her brother’s face that she couldn’t immediately decrypt even if the signs of the woman latest visit was too evident to her eyes.

“How’s she? Was she happy to see you?”

She asked taking a step closer to the glass that was divding her from her favourite brother and smiled. She really enjoyed seeing how the mention of her always managed to make him tremble, his voice cracking slightly, his pupils dilating more than usual. She wondered for a second if the woman really was worthy of such devotion, but surely she was special, otherwise she would have never made such an impression to both her brothers.

“I don’t know what are you talking about.”

Sherlock replied with his usual tremor when the woman was concerned, not that Eurus was much surprised.

“You do.”

She insisted but then she observed him for a couple of seconds finally understanding what the problem was.

“Oh…You had a fight.”

From Sherlock’s surprised and annoyed reaction she realised her deduction was completely right.

“How do you know?” her brother asked taking a step closer and she only kept smiling “Is this about her husband? Again?” she said moving her head, and he stopped paralysed. Of course, she knew that that was not their first fight about her husband, probably it was around the fifth or the sixth. She hadn’t brought the subject up sooner because before he always seemed ok after but this time Sherlock looked really… upset… angry… hurt. What was wrong with human people? Why did they care so much? Why did they let other people have such an influence over them? And why on earth was her brother letting such a small matter distracting and destroying him? This woman must be really remarkable, she thought smirking at her brother, who with his most serious expression replied

“That’s absurd.”

The little pirate was really, REALLY offended. That whole situation was becoming REALLY HILARIOUS and Eurus took her violin and played the original Irene’s theme, the one her brother had chosen to describe himself the fist time they had met in Sherrinford.  
Then Eurus whispered “You are absurd. We are in the 21th century, punch the guy and get the girl”

Those words only managed to make Sherlock more uncomfortable and staying there, hearing her tone was making him feel exposed so he hissed “Could you just stop?”

But his sister had no intention of letting that go and continued playing, each note like a blade to his hurt pride; then she spoke again “Nope, brother. You are absurd. And ridiculous. She’s in love with you, Sherlock”

How could he not see what she could so clearly? And she had never even met the girl, not that she didn’t have a thought or two about that… But her attention now was needed on Sherlock so she stared at her brother for a while, he was really trying to seem as calm as possible, emotionless, a perfect machine and yet his hands were slightly trembling and she could almost see his anger in those dilated pupils.

Eurus finished Irene’s Theme and took a step closer to repeating “She’s in love with you and you are with her” she almost laughed saying those words aloud “Emotions. Sentiments. Oh poor brother, she’s fucking you up in every possible way. And yet…”  
“And yet what?” he asked half angry, half curious  
“And yet you want it again,” Eurus said with a victory smile  
“What?” her brother replied confused and she hesitated for a while, appreciating his tension, then, eventually, she answered him “The game, the best game you have had, the best you have ever wished for. The game between you and her”  
Sherlock never replied, and Eurus knew she was definitively right.

The next time she saw him something had changed, he was changed, he even seemed in a good mood, and the woman’s imprint was visible all over him. It took Eurus a couple of seconds to deduce what had happened only some hours before.

“So you DID punch the guy eventually, good for you.”

Her words are cutting but utterly true, and Sherlock can’t help but grin in return

“What do you mean?”

His sister stood up from her bed and started walking around the room with the only scope of making him nervous, seeing how… tense he became with those kinds of conversation always managed to amuse her, but at the same time she was curious about the details, so she just hesitated some further before going on.

“Someone here had sex last night.”

His reply arrived sooner that she had expected  
“Nonsense.”

And Eurus smiled, it almost seemed he wasn’t lying, he almost seemed honest. Almost. But she was herself, a Holmes and genius beyond Newton, so she just knew when he was faking and in that moment he definitely was.

“This morning then”

Those words escaped her mouth faster than she had imagined and his expression in return is the only answered she needed. Poor little thing. The woman had really fucked him in every possible way…

“Oh my dear brother, it’s all over your face… and your body.”

Sherlock shook his head embarrassed for a blink before saying “What?”  
“Her” Eurus replied joining her hands  
“That’s…” Sherlock started trying to actually defend himself but his dear sister had no intention of letting him finish that sentence, so she simply stepped in “Normal. That’s normal. She… she makes you look incredibly normal, Sherlock, and we both know you are far from normal, so I assume she must be… special. Very special” she stopped for some instances before going on “Is she?”  
“We won’t discuss her” he replied resolute with a slight anger in his eyes, and this only managed to make her even more curious and intrigued “Why not? She seems interesting.”  
“Enough!” he cried, losing his temper and Eurus bite her lips, finding that situation incredibly interesting “I want to know her, brother” she insisted once again, but his feelings about it didn’t change “You won’t” he said taking his violin in his hands.  
Sadly for him Eurus really adored to torture him, so she spoke again “Mom and Dad know her, Mycroft knows her, John knows her. I want to know her too.”  
“I said we won’t discuss her and by the way how do you know that our parents know her?” he said visibly irritated.

Soon after he realised his mistake, or at least he did that as soon as he saw her expression, with an irritating victory smirk on her lips “I didn’t, now I do. Thank you, brother. Now I definitively want to meet her, it will be… challenging, I’m sure.”  
He rolled his eyes before starting playing a new theme “Never. It will never happen.”

The following months Mycroft showed up at this door. That was weird, and he immediately realised it must have to do with their evil sister.

“What’s wrong with her now?” Sherlock asked seriously concerned, and the older Holmes sat down and breathed in before finally spilling out the truth “Eurus wants a birthday present.”  
“Be careful then, remember what happen the last time she asked for a present?” the younger brother said mocking, the older and Mycroft rolled his eyes before exclaiming “I do remember Sherlock! But things are different now, besides…”  
“Besides?” Sherlock asked interrupting him, and Mycroft smiled slightly before continuing “You know how resourceful she can be. Our great nation needs her mind, Sherlock.”  
Sherlock nodded bored in return before speaking again “What are you asking? What does she want?”  
“3 unsupervised minutes” Mycroft replied staring at him and Sherlock returned that look very surprised “With me?”

Mycroft reply arrived direct and serious  
“With Irene Adler”


	2. Out of the Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From last chapter
> 
> Mycroft reply arrived direct and serious 
> 
> “With Irene Adler”

Irene Adler. The woman. Irene Adler. Mycroft almost saw his little brother losing a breath hearing that name, and he actually saw his face frowning suddenly. He was so overprotective of her, more than he could have ever imagined, he was becoming so… predictable, human. 

His eyes were still staring at him worried, and Mycroft had the urge to suffocate a laugh. Sherlock looked so… furious. At him. For the dominatrix. That situation was almost funny. Almost because he was behaving like a small kid with his favourite toy, jealous and incapable of sharing it with others. But he wasn’t a child, and Irene wasn’t a toy, and they weren’t playing, it was serious. He needed Eurus and Eurus needed Sherlock’s woman. He breathed in and out; it was not a game, it was a mess.

Then his little brother’s voice interrupted his thoughts “No” Sherlock said bitterly with anger in his eyes, the little pirate had really no intention of pulling her into that, to force the woman to face their super dangerous sister, he was so sentimental when she was concerned.

“Sherlock, listen” he insisted, but the younger Holmes didn’t care. Nor about him, nor about the safety of the nation, not if that would have endangered her safety, he really cared for her, REALLY cared. Attraction is one thing but caring, passion, love? Mycroft was not even sure Sherlock could be able to feel such feelings for a woman, the woman and yet he had seen him defending her fiercely, time again, he had seen him fighting to have her back, and now he was seeing him fighting to keep her safe. It was almost… sweet. Almost since the safety of the nation was at stake.

“No” Sherlock repeated once again standing up and reached his desk, looking for something. 

Mycroft tried to approach him again taking a step closer “Your woman is strong and brilliant, she can handle it” he whispering in an almost reassuring tone but Sherlock did not change his mind “No” he hissed nervously and his brother tried one last time “Sherlock could you at least consider it?”

But the younger turned to meet his eyes “How many times do I have to say no before you understand?” and Mycroft left knowing that he had to let him calm down on his own and try another time. He was Sherlock; he was rational. At the end, he would have understood he was sure of it and yet that woman… the woman had him, all of him. 

Two weeks later Sherlock paid his sister one of his usual visits, and while he was playing Mozart, she decided to break the silence with an obvious statement.

“My birthday is next month.”

Sherlock stopped playing and started packing his things, apparently uninterested and in a hurry. Apparently.

“I said my birthday is next months” Eurus repeated heightening her voice looking for his eyes, but her brother kept avoiding her still busy ordering all his stuff “I’m aware” he whispered eventually, ready to leave, but she was finding that moment thrilling. He knew what she wanted to say and he was… preoccupied, so preoccupied that he wanted to avoid the whole conversation. Sadly for him, Eurus had no intention of dropping the subject.

“I want to meet the woman.”

And yet he tried once again to do so

“It’s out of question.” 

Those words came out harsh and tense, and Eurus only managed to get more excited as a result of it “I bet she’s hotter in person” she exclaimed smirking “She is, isn’t she?”  
“Relax, I won’t seduce her” Eurus continued almost serious. Almost. “I promise” she added rolling her eyes, but Sherlock, not expression, nor his mind changed, and with an almost annoyed voice he whispered “Still out of question”  
That day, as Sherlock was already leaving, he heard his sister’s latest warning or threat, he was not sure “Bring her too next time, or don’t come at all.” He stopped for a couple of seconds, and then he left, sure about one thing, the woman would have never be allowed to go there, not if he could prevent it. 

Two days later Mycroft visited Backer Street.

“Why are you here?” Sherlock asked nervously, giving a brief look to his room and relaxing a second after. Mycroft found that behaviour quite… strange, but he had no time to try to interpret his’s brother’s oddness and in addition to that it was already late, so he simply spilt the truth “Eurus insists.”  
“No” Sherlock response was the one he had expected, but he had to give a last try, after all, they really needed Eurus’s help “Sherlock this is about the safety of the nation! At least…”  
“No. I said no” the younger Holmes repeated still giving some looks behind, he seemed so focused on that that he barely heard his brother’s following words, “I think your woman won’t mind, just ask Ms Adler.”  
Once those words hit him, he chocked “What? No, she’s not…”

In that exact moment, Mycroft understood why his brother was so worried about his room’s door. A beautiful Irene Adler appeared some seconds after, her hairs dishevelled, the nightgown crumpled and an even too evident light in her eyes. Mycroft couldn't help but grunting “Oh for God’s sake Sherlock!”

The woman took a step closer with a sweet smirk “You’re right Mr Holmes, I don’t mind at all” she whispered reaching Sherlock’s neck and embracing it gently.  
“Woman!” he exclaimed embarrassed, and in response, she kissed it, a moist slow kiss.  
“Relax Junior” she whispered separating from his neck “The Ice Man got me a pardon for my… crimes without asking anything in return” she continued sitting on John’s couch “This is the least I can do” she said almost in a serious tone. Almost.  
“It was me” Sherlock exclaimed with a tenseness in his voice “I was the one who got you that pardon, Woman” he continued with a slight brush in his cheeks, and Irene smiled. That situation was funny, so incredibly funny, almost hilarious. She smiled at him and then looked at Mycroft “You both did. The Holmes brothers working together to get me that pardon, Jim would have adored it…”  
“Don’t” Sherlock interrupted her angrily, and Irene interrupted him too “And I would gladly meet your sister anyway, I’m tired of being the only one who doesn’t know her…”  
“You don’t know what are you are talking about, Eurus is…” he started worried, but she had no intention of letting him finishing that sentence “… is a sociopath. As you are and Mycroft is, and I’m, you’re worrying too much.”  
“She’s not just a sociopath, my sister’s mind, her…” Sherlock tried to warn her, but the woman was not the kind of person that could have been frightened easily “I beat you” she exclaimed “Both of you” she clarified staring at both brothers before continuing “And I’m not afraid of your mad sister and then…”  
“Then what?” Sherlock asked exasperated, and the woman simply looked at him in return saying “I’m curious, incredibly curious about her. She’s a part of you, and I want to know you, all of you” she said those last three words with an emphasis that would have embarrassed Mycroft, if only he had been that kind of human being…  
“You know me well enough, silly” Sherlock replied forgetting for an instance that they weren’t alone, then he went on with a more serious tone “You should be satisfied, Miss Adler.”  
“It’s difficult to satisfy me, Mister Holmes, you know me well enough to know that” Irene hissed biting her lips and at that moment Mycroft saw Sherlock’s gaze. The intensity of it seemed capable of setting the whole house on fire, and his answer came with a strength he had never foreseen “Oh I do know that”. After that the two of them stared at each other silently with a tension that everyone would have noticed and Mycroft had no intention of bearing it a single further moment “Could you two just stop, please?” he said rolling his eyes and the woman smiled amusedly before answering “No.”

In the end, Eurus birthday arrived. 

It was the 2nd of September, and that morning it was cold, really cold. Sherlock was shaking, and Irene hugged him instinctively “Go back to sleep. Our flight is in four hours” she whispered leaving a small kiss on his collarbone.  
“Irene…” he started, calling her with her name, something he usually didn’t do “Go back to sleep” she repeated once again “It will be fine” she added after a small hesitation, but still she could feel his tenseness, so she opened her eyes and stared at him. 

“Touch me,” she commanded firmly, and he rolled his eyes “Woman…” then she stared at him, again, keeping eye-contact, enjoying his awkwardness, enjoying the view of his pupils' dilatation and repeated it, “I said touch me.”

This time he obeyed and his hands started moving over her body, without leaving one inch of it untouched “As you wish, Ms Adler” he whispered kissing her breast, and she tossed her head back, moaning in return. 

He needed that, she could almost feel how desperately he needed that, but she needed to do that on her terms, so she grabbed his hands by the wrist, placing them on her hips. 

He started caressing her, her heart raced, and she hated herself for showing such a weakness to him. It was always so... hypnotic, being with him, having him around. He had this power over her, he... confused her, he had her the way she had him. It was messy. It was a game, a constant, beautiful, challenging, game, a game she had no intention to give up to. Never.

It was a beautiful game. And it was dangerous, feelings were always dangerous.  
The feelings she had for him… were dangerous too, and difficult to figure out, but in that moment she did not have much time to process them, so just one option was left, to drawn into them.

Before she knew, he had got rid of his shirt and tossed her nightgown away and some seconds after he was already starting to push inside her, impatiently as always, while she, on the other hand, was already unbelievably wet and ready. 

A moment after he was bracing himself against her, and still staring at her he began to sink into her, his hips meeting hers in a gentle, sweet, infinite movement.

Irene smiled. She still surprised herself sometimes, he... he still surprised her sometimes. 

Seeing how he could be both passionate, impetus, brutal and yet sweet, gentle, caring, surprised her. Sherlock was... Unique. There was no-one else like him, he could really challenge and intrigue her at every level, not just physical, or intellectual. 

He was... he had become a part of her, no matter how hard she wanted to push down those feelings, deep down she knew it was true.  
He was a part of her, an essential part of her. 

He was her anchor, her safe place and her arena, he was her joy and her pain, he was her partner and her nemesis, he was nothing and everything. He had slowly become this fundamental part of who she was, so important that she could not even imagine her life without him.  
Irene could still remember how terrified she had been the moment she had found out about his “suicide” and the immense relief she had felt once she had received his stupid text, “I’m not dead, let’s have dinner”, how stupidly sentimental she was when he was concerned…

Her hands travelled, clawing in his back, finding grip in his neck and kissed him deeply, tasting his mouth, taking her time. After that, it all went very fast, skin against skin, hot breaths, a great pleasure, being with someone she would have never got tired of.  
As their movements slowed, she felt a deep sense of peace was filling her, and somehow she knew that he was feeling the same.

When he collapsed next to her, his body was still shuddering and sweating, and she adjusts to him resting on his chest, his arms cuddling her in a clumsy and yet reassuring gesture. 

“Are you feeling better now, Mister Holmes?” she grumbled closing her eyes, and he kissed her temple gently before whispering “Sleep well, Miss Adler, it will be a long day.” 

She smiled hugging him tighter “It will be fine, stop worrying” and he laughed silently in return, the woman truly knew him. 

And maybe she was right, maybe things would have really just worked out, maybe Eurus was not such a great threat to her. Maybe. Or maybe not.


	3. The Woman and the East Wind

Sherrinford was exactly as Irene had expected, a cold, isolated, imperial fortress. She wondered how a Holmes could survive such a loneliness, such a… boredom.   
And she smiled then, that’s why Sherlock visits her so often, she thought, makes perfect sense after all. She almost felt sorry for Sherlock’s psychopathic serial killer’s sisters. Almost.

As she was about to enter Eurus’s cell, Sherlock’s hand found hers and stopped her. She turned meeting his eyes. Even thought his face seemed as tough and serious as always, she could feel a slight tremor in his fingers “You don’t have to do this, we could still…” but she didn’t let him finish that sentence. She pulled a finger on his lips and silenced him pronouncing some simple words “It will be fine”, and he nodded in return before adding “Just be careful”. 

Irene smirked at him one last time before disappearing into the tube that led to Eurus’s cell.

Irene walked slowly, unsure of how to proceed.   
Eurus was not exactly how she had expected her to be, her eyes were incredibly cold and yet at the same time, her fingers were dancing in the most elegant and delicate manner.

Her gesture was almost magnetic, she was a siren, and Irene felt the immediate urge to take a step closer, to examine her, to understand her. Her long hairs were falling on her back, and she was walking barefoot around. Irene stopped for a second; Sherlock was definitively right, his sister was not the usual psychopath. Sadly for Eurus, the woman was not the usual girl either, so Irene stopped, joined her hands kept staring at Sherlock’s evil sister.

Eurus, on her side, stopped her hypnotic movements and started staring at her.

The younger Holmes stayed silent for a bunch of seconds, and Irene almost feared she would not have said a word for the whole time of her visit, she feared or maybe hoped that she would have deduced everything of her without even asking a single thing.

Regardless of this, Eurus’s silence didn’t last much and some seconds after Eurus’s enthusiasm surprised her, as the woman heard her loud, secure and excited voice exclaiming

“The woman!”

And Irene smirked for a moment before managing to reply, with an unexpectedly intrigued tone “The east wind.”

“Come closer” Eurus continued inviting her guest with a gesture of the hand “I want to see you better” she whispered looking her through the glass, but the woman had no intention to obey her. Or anyone else, she was a former Dominatrix, after all, only one person could command her her, sometimes, and that person was a different Holmes.

“I’m comfortable here” she hissed fiercely, with almost a challenging tone and Eurus understood, even if she continued with the same insolence that she had shown before, that insolence that Sherlock feared would have endangered Irene so much. Her next words were a concentrate of all that “You’re beautiful and much hotter in person, but honestly, I don’t think that that’s what attracts Sherlock the most, with none offence.”  
“None taken, his body is not what I prefer to him either” Irene replied staring at the other woman, who laughed amused “Of course not, his brain is far more fascinating, isn’t it?”  
“To me, it is” the woman replied in a firm and secure tone.  
“And mine?” the east wind asked taking a step closer, almost reaching the glass that divided them.  
Irene didn’t hesitate to speak the following words “You’re a Holmes and from what I’ve heard the most brilliant one so yes, I assume your brain must be something… remarkable”   
Hearing those words made Eurus smile, in an awkward disquieting unsettling smile and the woman felt intrigued and scared in the same measure, then Eurus smirked whispering “I’ve heard so much about you too.”   
Irene stared at her for a moment, then hissed “I haven’t heard enough about you”, and the younger Holmes laughed slightly before joining her hands “This doesn’t surprise me, Sherlock has the tendency to… hide me, but I would say that’s already a big improvement from erasing completely.”

Irene nodded imperceptibly. She knew Eurus was right.

Sherlock had spent years closing himself up, preventing anyone to understand him, how he truly… thought, what he felt, who he really was. He had spent years building this… unbreakable wall around him, actually believing that showing… feeling, any kind of affection would have damaged him, his work, his life. For years he had pretended to be this… perfect functioning machine and yet at a point John had unlocked something in him, as Eurus had, as herself had too, probably.

Irene was not sure.

She was never sure when he was concerned. This is what she… appreciated most about him, what made her feel…overwhelmed. It was the fact that he was capable of challenging her in a way no one else had ever managed to, he was capable of dealing with her in a way no one else could. He was special, he was the definition of special to her, but what was he to her, or she to him, eventually? Neither of them was sentimental, neither of them liked to truly speak about… emotions, connections, sentiments.

And yet years had gone by, and he had changed. And she had changed. And their… bound had somehow developed, or at least it seemed so to her. It was so to her, it was true. Real. They were becoming… real, in their way, at their terms, but still real.

After that some words escaped her mouth, words that were intended tp provoke Eurus, she told herself. Or maybe she was looking for an excuse to bring the subject up, an excuse to ask for her opinion. Eurus’s. Sherlock’s sister, an era-defying genius whose opinion and feelings evidently mattered to… to him.

“He barely replied any of my texts at first, now he’s more… active. Is that improvement to you?”

Eurus eye-bows raised instantly “What do YOU think, Irene?”.

Her voice sounded like course, or blessing, the woman was not sure. Surely the younger Holmes intended to underline her superior mind, sadly for her; Irene never had any intention to be outsmarted, so her reply arrived more insolently than she had intended to “What do you expect me to think, Eurus?”

Eurus Holmes stared at Irene Adler for what it seemed an eternity and the woman saw the east wind’s eyes running through her. She knew what the other woman was trying to do. She had seen it already, she had seen that kind of look on her before but Eurus, like her brother before her, seemed incapable of deducing THE woman, of… unveiling her and this shocked Eurus at the point that Irene almost saw a sign of surprise in her eyes. Almost. Some seconds after Eurus smirked gently and took a couple of steps back before exclaiming in an excited and almost scaring tone some words that Irene would have gladly avoided.

“Let’s make it funny. What do you feel for him?”

Unexpectedly the answer to that was not hard to give.   
On the contrary, Irene suddenly felt as if she had been preparing for this conversation for years and words simply left her mouth.  
“I thought you were an era-defying genius beyond Newton, Eurus.”

What happened after was a dangerous, intriguing and unrepeatable… game of chess.

“That’s about emotions and Sherlock has always have been the emotional one and you…” Eurus stopped for some seconds, probably looking for the right phrase to use or possibly only to arouse the woman’s curiosity “You’re the living proof of that, but sentiments… Sentiments, affection, attraction, love, lust… are all chemical defects, just chemical defects. And yet these mean something to him. And to you too, probably, so what do you think you are to him?”  
“Why do you care?” Irene replied ending that question with an insolent smile on her lips.  
“Who says I care?” Eurus hissed rolling her eyes.   
“Why do you want me to answer, then?” the woman insisted taking a step closer, almost chasing her adverssary “Tell me.”  
“What is he to you?” the younger Holmes continued fiercely “Tell me.”

Neither of them spoke, and for a moment a strange silence fell between them.  
Then Eurus spoke again, her tone irreverent as before “Is he the love of your life, darling? A piece of you?”

Those words hit the woman’s pride. What was Sherlock to her? That was a question she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer to. The love of her life…it just seemed not right.   
He was… so much more. He was… and in that moment some words escaped her mouth.

“He’s… a stimulating challenge, a constant intriguing, extraordinary, life-changing challenge.”  
Hearing that made Eurus smile, an almost gentle smile “You’re playing your relationship down, you know it, I know it.”  
“Do I?” Irene asked with false innocence, which only managed to slightly irritate Eurus. “You tell me. How was it?” her voice ringed as her eyes kept staring at the woman.  
“What?” Irene asked genuinely confused, and the other woman replied almost immediately “Everything…To find him, to love him, to lose him, to find him again… your emotional context with him…”   
“Why are you so interested, Eurus?” the woman asked almost annoyed “And let’s not pretend it’s just because you need some emotional context, he has already given you that…” Irene added before stopping.   
She stopped, for some seconds she stopped, thinking about that, reflecting about Eurus’s interest in her and after that, she continued with a more secure tone “You want to understand the human defect that bonds me to your brother, you are curious and you need to understand how it works because as much as you claim to know about… everything and everyone, “love” is something you don’t quite get.”  
“You think you’re smart, but…” Eurus started but this time too the woman stopped her without remorse and spoke disregarding her opinion, finally understanding that, that was the only possible way to beat Eurus on her own game. So she hissed “Do you envy him or are you jealous of me?” she said that taking a further step closer, moving her legs like a blade in the warm flesh. In that moment Eurus’s hand reached her abdomen and whispered with an indignant tone “You really think I could find Human Connection intriguing enough to awake my interest? Why?”  
“Because I think Human Connection can be quite…remarkable” the woman stated.  
“How so?”

Irene gave her a sweet smile that seemed almost a mockery and then asked: “For a long time I’ve kept asking myself questions about it, haven’t you?”  
“Do you realise I’ve been living in Sherrinford, isolated from the World, since I was five, right?” Eurus replied almost exasperated from that singular sister-in-law, and the woman in front of her nodded and whispered smirking “Of course I do, that’s why I think you’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it, am I wrong?”

Another moment of silence happened between the two of them, and for the first time that day Irene almost felt Eurus true uncertainty. She lowered her eyes, but it didn’t last much. Vulnerability was something that disgusted her, as disguested Irene too probably, and yet there was a question she wanted, she… needed to ask her.

“Do you think is needed? Do you think you need him?”

“Do you?” the woman asked and seeing that the other had no intention to react, continued “What I think is that connection, real connection, is the rarest thing in the world and sometimes… sometimes it doesn’t even seem even worth it. I mean… Is it even possible? To truly know another person, to find that human being that understands you… how you think, how you move, the one who fits you, the one that… redefines how you perceive the surroundings. Is it even a worthwhile pursuit? Especially in a world when people… hurt each other… betray each other and…leave, suddenly and unexpectedly.”

She finished that sentence realising that that tone had become almost… emotional, she could almost feel tears trapped inside her eyes, which surprised her more than she should have. And Eurus, obviously, noticed that and made sure that the woman knew she had.

“Did that hurt?” she asked with a slight cruel tone in her voice “Believing him dead? Knowing that he would have never kissed you again, touched him again? Knowing that his gorgeous and reassuring body had become useless and cold. Did it burn your heart? Was it an unbearable weight that almost destroyed you?” she hesitated for a while, appreciating the woman’s slight tremor “Did it hurt?” she asked again.  
“Does it matter?” the woman whispered staring at her in return, facing her attack “Did it hurt?” Eurus repeated in an almost severe tone.  
“Does it matter?” the woman repeated, determined not to let Eurus win.

She was Sherlock’s sister, but some memories, some… secrets were theirs and theirs only. How she had felt when she lost him, or how he had felt after her first death… those feelings were completely private, a pain like that… surely needed to be… contained. And Eurus felt that, all of that, and suddenly her fluid voice filled in the room again.

“You won’t answer unless I answer first, will you?”

Irene silent smirk was the only encouragement Eurus needed to continue. And she did.

“It matters. Sherlock and you.” her voice hissed “ You…were right, I want to understand.” In that moment the woman almost laughed “Good luck then, not even I understand what that is”

She was being honest, and yet things were changing between them, she could feel that. Their… connection had changed in a way she had never expected to, they were… growing up, maybe. Or maybe they were just adjusting to each other, they were experimenting something new.

Usual people would have probably called that stable-loving-relationship, and yet they weren’t usual people, they had never had been.  
And yet they had been living together for a while by then, she had been sharing his bed and his house, and… from time to his job, his fears, his hopes and… for the first time in her life, she was considering the idea of settling down. With Sherlock. That thought… almost disgusted her. Almost, because deep down, she felt as if she had been waiting for that moment, for him, for all her life.

Eurus’s voice distracted her once again “You are important to him”, and Irene stared at her, finally understanding what all that dialogue was about “You are important to him, too” she responded, serious and Eurus insisted once again.“And he cares for you, deeply.”  
After that Irene shook her head “Please don’t. This is not a competition for affection, Eurus. He’s capable of caring for us both.”  
“Is he?” the east wind whispered unsurely, and the woman nodded simply, and strangely her movements were also… reassuring “He’s more capable of that than he seems. And so are you.”

Suddenly Eurus’s expression relaxed and her lips formed an almost satisfied grin. Then she said something the woman had never expected to hear.

“My brother really has good taste.”  
“Did you doubt that?” she said in return biting her lips.  
“I did" the other replied honestly “It took him a while to get rid of your husband.”  
“Ages” the woman hissed, trying so hard not to laugh.

Sherlock had really gotten rid of her husband, outsmarting him mentally and beating him physically. That memory was so unexpectedly…. pleasant to her, she had never thought she would have enjoyed seeing him jealous THAT much, but it wasn’t the right time to lose herself in those kinds of thoughts; so she continued “But I probably should thank you for that.”   
“Me?” Eurus said faking a surprise “You” Irene repeated keeping staring at the younger Holmes, who smiled kindly understanding what the woman wanted to say “Sherlock didn’t tell you that, Irene” she whispered and the other nodded confirming that “He didn’t. Neither did the Ice Man, nor your parents.”

Eurus Holmes nodded and after that whispered her final opinion about the woman, Sherlock’s woman. Irene Adler. “You are as witty as you are intelligent, Irene. You really are”, and as the woman wanted to reply to that compliment the east wind spoke again “But I got to choose the name, not negotiable.”

Those words made the woman’s heart lose a beat. The name, Eurus, the era-defying genius Eurus Holmes had said “the name”, and for obvious reason, the woman had understood what Eurus was trying to say.

“What?” she exclaimed, hoping to be wrong.   
But she wasn’t and Eurus smile confirmed that “Nero if it’s boy, Mata if it’s a girl, but it will be a boy this time I’m quite sure.”  
“What?” Irene repeated again, trying so hard to remember the last time she had her period, trying to give a reasonable explanation for her recent tendency to throw everything up in the morning, or to the fact that she had been overemotional and…  
Eurus saw the woman’s doubts and gave a small move of the head “You have understood.”

And still, Irene was not convinced “This is absurd, I was a dominatrix, I know my body” she whispered leading her hands towards her belly.

“Yes,” Eurus said noticing that gesture “Yes and you slept with my brother more or less two months ago, haven’t you?” Irene’s silence confirmed once again Eurus’s theory, so she continued “And last night. And this morning” after that the younger Holmes took a big breath before adding “Deep down you know I’m right.”  
“I…” the woman started, but a noise behind her stopped her voice. The elevator that led to Eurus’s cell opened, and Sherlock appeared behind them, then she heard his voice saying “Time’s up sis.”


	4. Sentiment

“Time’s up sis.”

“Hello, brother or better say…” Eurus started, but Irene icy gaze stopped her, forcing her to simply raising the eyebrow in return.  
But the damage was done, and her brother’s mind was already racing, trying to figure out what had just happened between them “Better say, what?” his voice echoed “Explain yourself, what…”  
“Not now” Eurus interrupted him “But thank you, Sherlock, she was a beautiful present, appreciated, really.” she paused for some seconds “ _I do like her_ ” she finished with a smirk.  
“I do like her, too!” Sherlock exclaimed in the fury of the moment and his sister smiled satisfied, she smiled in a way that almost seemed gentle, almost.  
“You do?” Irene’s voice mocked him, but in that mockery, Sherlock almost heard a surprise, too.

The Woman seemed genuinely shocked to hear him saying that aloud and he could see why. He was Sherlock Holmes, the clever detective in the funny hat, the alone, misogynous, impossible sociopath. Except he wasn’t and she knew it.

“Ops” Eurus hissed amused, finding that whole situation incredibly… interesting. And stimulating. Sherlock’s icy gaze was becoming… less icy and more… annoyed.  
“Mister Holmes, are you exposing yourself?” the Woman’s voice echoed.  
“Don’t” Sherlock warned her before turning towards his sister “And you” his voice heightening “What have you meant with "better say"? Better say what?”  
“She will tell you. _Privately_.” Eurus said resolute “Now play”  
“What would you like to hear?” Sherlock asked looking at the Stradivari Eurus was offering him insistently.  
“Isn’t that obvious?” his sister hissed rolling her eyes “Her.”  
“I’m not playing _Her_ ” he answered resolutely and terribly annoyed.  
“It’s _my_ birthday” the younger Holmes insisted angrily.  
“Yes, and you already had your present, I won’t play Her” Sherlock insisted, and Irene widened her eyes at the same time “Me?” she asked surprised “Do you want Sherlock to play ME?”

An awkward silence fell between them, and after some seconds Eurus grinned exclaiming

“She didn’t know!”  
“Of what?” the Woman asked looking at her and then at Sherlock and then at her again. “Of course she didn’t know” Eurus whispered happily and satisfied “Of course.”  
“Eurus could you NOT, please?” Sherlock warned her, but it was too late. Irene would have never let that go and he knew it “What is it about? What do I not know?” the Woman asked urgently "What...?".  
“Don’t.” Sherlock said again to Eurus, this time with a strange anger in his voice “Don't.”  
But the east wind had no intention of letting that good either “When I fist re-met Sherlock I asked him to play himself and guess what? He played a song he had written for you” she said, staring at the Woman, who turned in her man’s direction instantly, almost speechless “Did you write a song for me?”  
“Half a dozen, as far as I know,” Eurus said interrupting the pair intense glancing at each other “And I can’t wait for him to write something also for…”  
“It was nice to see you Eurus” he interrupted her nervously “I hope you’re satisfied with your birthday present. Now we should leave”  
“I am. Satisfied. More than you can imagine” the east wind hissed raising her eyebrows grinning “Next time I think I’ll ask for a joined session.”  
“Don’t think about that, this was a one-time thing” Sherlock warned her “This will never…”  
“Of course brother, of course. Repeat it to yourself another time; maybe it will feel true at some point” Eurus told him smiling, and after that, she stared at the woman “It was… fulfilling to get to know you, Irene, we’ll meet again.”  
“Not if I can prevent it” Sherlock insisted once again, but Irene took a step closer fisting him gently as she was moving “Stop it, Sherlock, you are only making this game more enjoyable for her, don’t you see it?” she whispered, then she turned her attention towards Sherlock’s sister “You have proven to be… remarkable, Eurus. It’s been a pleasure” in response to that the beyond Newton genius smiled, almost kindly “Till the next time, Irene” and after that, with Sherlock great relief, they left the cell.

The Woman did not have to wait long before hearing Sherlock’s concerns “Why are you so pale?” he asked worried “What did she do to you?”  
“I…”  
“I knew this was an awful idea” he continued, angrily. His face seemed as calm as usual, but Irene almost heard a decisive tremor in his voice. He seemed… terrified “Now I’m going to have a talk with Mycroft, this will never ever…”  
“Sherlock stop” Irene warned him “Stop.”  
“I will not allow…” he continued regardless, but the Woman took his pulse resolute “Let’s go home.”  
“Woman…”  
“I said let’s go home.” she repeated before entering the helicopter that was waiting for them, and he hesitated for only a moment before following her. Neither of them said a word during the rest of the travel.

“Sit down” she commanded him once they reached Baker Street’s living room “Obey, Mister Holmes” she warned him, again, indicating his chair with her eyes “Sit down.”  
He did so, and she sat in front of him, unsure of how to deal with the matter, but he spoke first “Now could you tell me what happened? What did she say to you?”  
“I need you to breath, can you?” the Woman told him, and her voice sounded harsher than expected, so she tried again “Can you?”  
“Irene…”  
“Breath,” she asked one last time, and he stayed silent, waiting for her explanation “Tell me.”  
“Eurus said she wants to choose the name”  
“What name?” Sherlock asked cluelessly  
“The name of our…” Irene started hesitantly, looking for the right word to use, still feeling slightly uncomfortable at the idea that she might be… she was… “Offspring,” she said finally.  
“Offspring?” he repeated, unsure of what she meant. Terrified of what it might mean.  
“Look” she hissed simply, staring at him, as he was meeting her demanding eyes insistently.  
“I’m looking” he replied lost, looking for clues in her, finding none.  
“Deduce it.”  
“I never deduce you.”  
“Sometimes you do,” the Woman remarked “Sometimes you look” she continued, lowering her eyes on her body “Sometimes you understand.”  
“You…” he eventually whispered “Your measurements.”  
“Eurus is an era-defying genius beyond Newton, you said it yourself” she answered his unspoken question, and after that, he fell in his mind palace. She was already used to that behaviour from him, from time to time he disappeared for hours, lost in his mind, analysing and reliving anything he needed to solve a case. His eyes were empty, even if he was physically there “Sherlock…?” she tried to call him once but he didn’t respond so she stood up and reached for him sitting on his legs, her arms wrapped around his neck, her head on his shoulder. She fell asleep without even realising she was, it had been a long day after all.

“Woman…?” a voice called her after ages “Woman…?”  
Irene opened her eyes suddenly and looked into Sherlock’s. She tried to understand what was going on, she tried to see what his decision might have been, she tried and what she saw was panic “You don’t need to panic like that” she snorted “It’s ridiculous and pathetic. I am an independent woman; I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone. I can do this on my own, and you don’t have to…”  
“Stop this nonsense.” he warned her, pulling her closer “Of course you can do it on your own, but you won’t need to.” he continued caressing her cheek “It’s ok, I think we can do this, Woman. After all raising a child it’s like an experiment, isn’t it?”  
“Are you serious?” she asked, almost amused. The simplicity with which he was treating such a serious matter was destabilising her, it was a child they were talking about, not just a random series of chemical elements, it was about a baby, their baby.“Yes,” he answered smiling shyly in the sweetest possible way, in a way that almost warmed the Woman’s heart “We hardly are what people would define as usual parents, and...” she commented rolling her eyes.  
“Your child” he interrupted her “Our child will hardly be an ordinary baby, so I don’t see why are you worrying so much and besides…”

At that moment Sherlock gave her a shy smile, and after that, he pointed to himself, made a gentle fist with both hands, and cross them over his heart, as if he was hugging somebody close and after that, he pointed to her. Irene knew the meaning of that sign, and she couldn’t help a single tear falling from her eye. Obviously she cursed herself for that weakness a second later, but the damage was already done. Sentiment, she thought, disgusted. Why did she even care if he loved her? She was better than that, she didn’t NEED to be loved.

Appreciated, worshipped, admired, yes but… Loved? And from a high functioning sociopath, her instinct should have told her to leave, immediately. Leave everything behind, leave him behind, and yet there she was, allowing a single tear to fall on her cheek, allowing herself to be weak, sensitive, sentimental. She closed her eyes and cursed herself once again.

Why does it matter to me so much?  
You know why, she responded herself mentally.  
  
She was feeling like a weak, sentimental, little, usual, useless girl, someone who knew nothing of the world, someone who needed the others to survive, someone that needed HIM to survive.

She hated feeling like that, that’s why she had spent years making herself strong, unbreakable, unassailable, untouchable. Someone incapable of feelings, pain, hurt, love, affection, needs, emotions.

She was capable of living without all of that, she was sure of that at least. She was someone formidable, terrifying and beautiful.

But not sentimental, never sentimental.  
And then he had arrived.  
Why on earth had she allowed him to undo her as easily as the lacings of her boots?

He had done that to her, it was all his fault, entirely his fault.  
He had awakened her interest, intrigued her, unlocked something in her, he had… made her fall, hard, and then he had… made her question everything, he had… made her redefining the surroundings. He had changed her, and she had barely noticed that, he had become the best challenge that had happened to her. He had… enriched her life in a way she had never expected. The clever detective in the funny hat was part of her now, in every possible way.

And it was something that she could not have changed and, that surprised her, she did not want to change. She was his and he was hers, in the more twisted and complicated way they... belonged together.

It would have been foolish and nonsense to hide that, and she knew it.

The sign that came after was from her, her hand took a “Y" shape, and after that, it slid back and forth between him and herself.

She smiled at him, gently and a second after she leant into him, her lips meeting his in a soft, careful, almost chaste kiss, a brush of his lips against each other.

After a while, the woman was not sure whether it had been seconds or hours, a loud voice interrupted them “This is going to be… HILARIOUS”

Obviously both of them recognised that voice immediately, Sherlock’s face became livid and Irene started laughing.  
After that, she turned in the direction of the man who had spoken. She turned in his direction and stared at him for some seconds, then the Woman smiled before exclaiming “Shut up, John” then she wrapped her arms around Sherlock tighter than before, appreciating his embarrassment. Showing such a kind of intimacy, even with her, always embarrassed him, made him feel uncomfortable “That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?" she whispered "It seems we might consider using your middle name after all” she continued reaching for Sherlock’s face, their noses touching.

She ADORED to cause him embarrassment, and she had every intention to do so for a long, long time.


	5. Continuous Discovery

Eurus brought up Irene again only a couple of months later.

“Play her” she hissed sitting on the edge of her bed “I’m waiting, brother” she continued with that demanding eyes of hers “Play her.”  
“Why?” Sherlock replied snorting “Why do you even care, sister?”  
“I like the piece” she replied raising her eyebrows “And I like her” she added with a small smile “, And I might want to know how things are between you two, too”  
“You do?” Sherlock asked almost curious. And he was. Eurus’s interest in his relationship annoyed him most of the time, and yet somehow he also liked how she forced him to.. face his emotions. Even those related to Irene, the Woman, the only woman. Then his sister’s voice distracted him from his thoughts “I find you two… interesting, stimulating.” she explained “And you’d be better treat her right” Eurus concluded staring at him with a serious look. So serious that made Sherlock raise his eyebrow shocked, then in a moment of hesitation he said: “Do you care for her this much?”  
“Nonsense.” she whispered with a grin “I appreciate her, but your son is who I care about.”  
“Are you serious?” he replied, genuinely surprised, again. “Do you mean it?”   
“He’ll be a Holmes” Eurus answered simply with a bored smirk, her lips twisting as Sherlock agreed nodding, waiting for his sister’s final consideration “Indeed”.  
After a couple of minutes of silence, the older Holmes finally gave her response “He’ll be a nice diversion.”

After that Eurus didn’t mention the Woman for more than a month. Eventually, she simply blabbed on those two words Sherlock was almost getting used to “Play her” and this time he had no intention of arguing with her; he was too tired for that he obeyed her and started playing Irene’s original theme.

Eurus remained silent during the whole execution of the song, and for some further minutes after that, her hands joined under her chin, her expression focused.   
Her brother could almost see the thoughts running through her mind, all the connections she was making, all the deceptions she was making, then she spoke: “It’s changed.”  
“What?” Sherlock asked cloudlessly. He hadn’t changed a single note in years. That first “The Woman’s Theme” was perfect at it was, as it had been written the first time, in a moment of emotional distress. After he had found out of the Woman’s death, after his world had collapsed, and Eurus felt something dramatic in the current execution too, it was like he was losing once her. Then he shook his head and looked at his sister waiting for an explanation and Eurus’s eyes brighten in the exact moment in which she realised her brother had not figured it out on his own, so she explained “The way you play it. It changes every time something changes between you two.” then she took a small breath before continuing “It changed after you saw her again, after your argument about her husband, after…”  
At that moment Sherlock felt the urge to interrupt her sister, and he did so saying what was really bothering him “She received a letter from Montenegro, today.”  
“Did she?”   
“It was her lawyer” he continued, and after Eurus silent accusation she raised her eyebrow insistently, and Sherlock explained himself in return “Obviously I haven’t open it, but the address and the stamp spoke for themselves.”  
“So she wants a divorce” Eurus deduced nodding, then she continued more convinced “Maybe she’s already divorced, brother. Irene doesn’t look like someone who would accept no as an answer and neither like someone who would delay that more than necessary so…”  
“It’s not our business,” Sherlock said interrupting her reasoning, but Eurus smirked and continued regardless “But it is, Sherlock. She’s your business, and you’re mine.”  
“Till the next time, sis” he finished leaving Sherrinford with a small smile on his lips. Eurus could be almost sweet sometimes.

The next time he visited, it took Eurus a couple of seconds before standing up and deducing him. Then she started yelling at him, looking at her brother with an incredibly shocked expression. “What have you done?”  
“Excuse me?” Sherlock replied with a nervous and offended tone, almost furious.  
“She’s mad at you” Eurus continued “Uh! She’s really pissed, poor Irene.”   
“You’re unbelievable, sister.”  
“What have you done? Have you…” she started, and at that moment Sherlock could almost hear the flow of the other Holmes’s thoughts, all her hypothesis, all her deductions “Please, don’t be absurd” he whispered shaking his head, those ideas were really nonsense, but Eurus had to continue speaking “…Cheated?” she suggested, “Are you really this stupid?”  
Those insinuations forced Sherlock to roll his eyes “You’re being ridiculous, dearest sister” he hissed, but Eurus continued her reasonings regardless “She doesn’t want you to sleep with her, you must have done something.”  
“I won’t talk to you, about her”  
“Fine” she concluded after a minute of silence “Whatever have you done… it’s almost Christmas. Considering your history that’s a perfect occasion to…”  
“Please don’t…” Sherlock said with an almost disgusted expression, he hated when his sister analysed all his relationship to the Woman “It’s when she faked her death, isn’t it? All those emotions…” she snorted, waiting for some seconds before continuing “Poor little birds. So trapped in your emotions, so humans…”  
“The Woman and I are not like that” Sherlock said interrupting her nervously, but Eurus smiled in return, satisfied of her strength “You’re not above it all, Sherlock.”  
“Neither are you, Eurus” her brother concluded “Neither are you”, and for that day enough words had been said.

He visited again after Christmas and Sherlock approached Eurus with a small imperceptible smile, which was not something that passed unnoticed to her. The elder Holmes stayed silent for some seconds before exploding “Oh!”  
“Oh…?” Sherlock repeated, half uncertain, half irritated, probably because he knew exactly in which direction that conversation would have gone to and, as always, Eurus knew how to hit him. And she did that, using some simple and yet destructive words “Have you just had make-up sex, haven’t you?” and her brother’s embarrassed eyes were a sufficient answer. Then she went on speaking “Is the divorce official?” she asked with an almost gentle smile, and Sherlock nodded in return, only slightly amused. After that she spoke again, saying something that her brother would have rather not to hear “She’s free then”, and he replied grinning “She’s always have been free.”  
“Free to marry you, I mean” his sister insisted with her adorable psychotic smile she reserved for him and for him only.

Marriage. She had dropped that bomb. Marriage. That idea was foolish and absolutely nonsense. He had never considered dwelling into the thought of such a foolish construct, not especially to consider to actually agree to… expose himself like that. Married, husband, partner, lover. Being in a relationship, being in a relationship outside of a case, was out of the Question, it had always have been like that, and yet the Woman was not just anyone. 

“Excuse me?” Sherlock said rolling his eyes, but his denying attitude only managed to encourage Eurus to provoke him even more “Irene Holmes… sounds good to me” she hissed with a smirk, a smirk that made Sherlock smile. A small, embarrassed smile, but still a smile “She would never take our name” he hissed in return, shaking his head slightly and his sister smiled too, in a satisfied grin “So you did HAVE thought about it.”  
“No.”  
“You have!” she insisted “How do you want to propose? Have you already considered few possible scenarios?”  
“That’s absurd.”  
“Just ask her” she suggested in almost a sweet tone “She’ll be so shocked that she will barely notice that you’re incapable of romanticism.”  
“Stop this nonsense, I said” he warned her taking the violin in his hands, determined to stop that conversation. After that, he started playing Mozart, Piano Concerto n23, one of Eurus’s favourite pieces, but she didn’t stop talking “This emotional context is too funny.” she exclaimed moving around the room “I’ve always known you would have been the normal one, but this? Settling down, children, marriage! Mum will be so happy!”  
After that she kept in silence for a while, listening to the song and Sherlock almost believed that she wold had dropped the subject. But he should have known better, he definitely should have, in fact, no long after Sherlock had finished his exhibition and Eurus spoke again “You should marry her, in this way my nephew won’t be a bastard”, and at that moment Sherlock laughed in return “You know what, Eurus?” he said satisfied “You haven’t understood the most basic thing”  
“Have I not?” his sister replied surprised, and Sherlock nodded in return with a satisfaction he had rarely had. For a time, for that particular time, his super intelligent sister had no clue of what was happening. He was in control, but after a couple of seconds the moment was over, and she smiled “You and the Woman, your genes and hers…” she started hesitantly, and Sherlock’s face confirmed her doubts “She’s…” Eurus whispered, looking for the right words “A continuous discovery. You’re lucky.”  
“I know” Sherlock replied, “I know.”


	6. Home

That day Sherlock left Sherrinford with a small smile on his lips.

Although he would have never said that aloud he had grown to… appreciate his time with Eurus, even when his sister insisted on talking about his private life, about the Woman and the outcome of their romantic entanglement. He snorted, tired, but as the plane was taking off, he realised that the real problem with his crazy sister, was that most of the time she was utterly and completely right. Absolutely, completely, crudely right. He closed his eyes, reflecting upon their last conversation. Eurus was a genius, no doubt about that, but even she had her limits, and it had taken her a while to understand what was so unique about Irene’s pregnancy. He had not predicted or guessed… that.   
No-one had, not even the Woman, especially not the Woman and he could still remember her rage when they had returned from that first ultrasound. At that moment Sherlock closed his eyes, falling back to his mind palace, falling back to his memories.

“What’s wrong?” John asked when Irene had locked herself in the bedroom, visibly annoyed after the doctor’s appointment.  
“Nothing is wrong” Sherlock replied, sitting on his couch as nothing had ever happened. He could still remember how confused John’s gaze had been “Irene seems…” he started hesitantly, not sure how to proceed, but Sherlock started reading the newspaper, completely ignoring him.   
“The Woman does not wish to speak to me at the moment” the detective replied casually, still looking at the newspaper, completely ignoring his friend.John, on the other hand, looked at him speechless for some seconds before exclaiming “What?!?!?”  
“John, please, don’t panic” Sherlock continued rolling his eyes.   
“I’m not! But…”  
“John” Sherlock started again, but the doctor interrupted him harshly asking “What have you done?”  
“Why should I have done something?” Sherlock replied, finally putting the newspaper apart, taking a big breath as his friend was starting shouting “Because most of the time YOU are impossible!”  
“So is she,” he said looking in their room’s direction, almost distracting himself for some instances. Then John’s voice captured his attention once again “Yes, but….” the doctor started hesitantly “She’s pregnant with your child, it’s your turn to be accommodating.”  
“Children” Sherlock corrected him.

After that, there were some seconds of absolute silence. Sherlock saw his friend expression passing from shocked to distressed, to overwhelmed.

“Children…?” he hissed after a while “This means that…”  
“I’ll leave you to your deductions” Sherlock whispered standing up, hoping that John would have dropped the subject. Of course, he didn’t. “She’s with twins, that’s why she does not talk to you anymore, is it?” he said, and Sherlock’s silence was the only confirmation he needed, so he continued “But I don’t understand.”  
“She blames me” Sherlock explained.  
“Ok.”  
“So she won’t talk to me for a while” he concluded reaching for his violin.  
“Is she aware that twins are more likely to be genetically determined from the mother?” John asked laughing, and his friend laughed in return, too. Then he started playing a new piece, something John had never heard before, a work in progress, something confused and yet somehow joyful. “Oh she does” he concluded, answering his friend “Of course she does.”  
“And…?”  
“I might have mentioned that my mother has a twin” Sherlock added, “As her mother and her grandmother did.”  
“Oh no.”  
“Oh yes.”  
“So she won’t talk to you” John tossed “For how long?”  
“All the time she founds adequate” Sherlock concluded. And for that day the discussion was over.

The days and weeks had gone by, days in which John had witnessed the new situation between the new parents-to-be, speechless. He knew that Sherlock and the Woman were probably the two most stubborn people he had ever met, but he had never expected that kind of behaviour. Maybe for this reason, maybe because the situation was becoming unbearable, he decided to speak with Sherlock the moment he had returned from Sherrinford.

“You and Irene are still avoiding each other?”  
“The woman does not wish to speak with me, and I’m respecting her wishes” Sherlock replied calmly.  
“You are an idiot” John hissed “and so is she. But at least she’s the excuse to be pregnant.”  
“That’s not…”  
“Don’t be a child, Sherlock.” his friend interrupted him “If she needs reassurance, give that to her.”  
“What would she?”  
“I’ll leave you to your deductions” John concluded leaving the room with a victory smirk on his lips.

That same day, some hours later Irene returned to Backer Street, but something caught her attention immediately “What happened here?” she asked shocked, looking at the armoury of baby items that was in her room, a room that was suddenly ordinate.  
“Oh, so you’re talking to me, now?” Sherlock whispered appearing behind her, and she turned meeting his eyes “Don’t change the subject, mister Holmes” she said with a small smirk “What happened here? Where is John?”  
“Out. With Rosy.”  
“Ok… and what is all of this?”  
“It was about time” Sherlock replied “You need your spaces. So do the little Holmes you’re carrying”  
“Little Adlers” she corrected him with a small smile, and at that moment Sherlock gave her his hand “Come with me,” he asked, and the Woman looked at him “Why would I?”  
“The Thrill of the Game” Sherlock stated and then she suddenly nodded agreeing to do as he wished “Ok”.   
The couple left Backer Street, and before she knew they were in a cab, Irene was resting on Sherlock’s shoulder, their hands still intertwined. She closed her eyes, and a silence fell between them. A silence so heavy that Sherlock almost suspected she had fallen asleep, then she whispered “Belgravia?”  
“How did you…?”  
“Don’t insult my intelligence and yours, Mon Cherie” she said opening her eyes, her pupils meeting his “Why are we here? What do you want to prove, now?”

There were some further seconds of silence as the driver was parking in front of Irene’s former house, then Sherlock took something out of his pocket and delivered safely to her “This are the keys to your old apartment. I brought it, for you.”  
“What?”  
“I don’t want you to use them” he clarified “But you can if you wish. You don’t have to live at my place and deal with my… extravagant habits… But I need you to know that I want you, I want us. You and me. And the babies and whatever happens I’ll help you and I’ll be on your side. But it’s up to you.”

After that, there were some additional moments of silence. Irene could hear her heart racing, her pupils dilating as he was looking at her with those puppy eyes he reserved to her and to her only. And he hated him for that, but her words betrayed her usual irreverent tone “No, no. Don’t. I’m sorry.”  
“What did you just say?” he asked surprised and shocked to hear her being this soft to him, “I won’t say it again” she warned him before reaching his face “I want what I want. And I want you” she hissed pulling him into her “You. All of you, even the crazy and the ugly” she continued on his neck, enjoying the control she was having over the detective. Sherlock was pretending to be emotionless, unassailable, but SHE could sense HIS quivers “Let’s go home” Irene finished biting his ear, her hand exploring his chest, tasting his muscles, her finger tracing him, unknotting his shirt slowly.  
“Home?” he asked with a trembling voice as the Woman’s hand was reaching for the belt with a clear idea in mind.   
“Home” she confirmed kissing him “Home.”


	7. The Devious Woman

The next time Sherlock visited Eurus, his sister immediately noticed his changed attitude “She has _forgiven_ you for hooking her up with the Holmes twins, then” she whispering staring at him “She’s _generous_. More than I believed her to be”  
“Or maybe” he corrected her with a smirk “She’s happy with the outcome of our sexual intercourse, and besides I am quite talented in these particular kinds of activities.”

His sister looked at him then, almost showing a reaction, _almost_ expressing something that common people would have called shock. _Almost_.

“Since when are you **THIS** explicit?” she cried “Not that I mind, I abhor hypocrisy as you well know” she continued standing up from the edge of her bed “I… do like this new version of you, Sherlock”.  
The middle child smiled gently, before avoiding his sister’s insisting look and pressing words “Have you decided how to propose then?”

Those words hit him, but he didn’t show, then he took a step closer “Even if I had,” he hesitated for some seconds “Why should I share that with _you_?”  
“Don’t be nasty, little brother” she warned him smiling “You know I have a particular… _interest_ in this case.”  
“Emotional context, Eurus,” he said, “Is this your only weakness?”  
“No” she replied firmly “That’s yours,” the young Holmes told him “What was she?” Eurus whispered pretending to remember John’s words “A dangerous disadvantage, destructive beyond…”  
“Don’t say _that_.”  
“Why no?” she insisted with a victory smile, and he lowered his eyes in return “You know _why_ Eurus.”  
“You’re so in love with her, Sherlock. I don’t know whether this is embarrassing or just stimulating.”  
“Probably both” Sherlock concluded passing her something, a small but relevant picture.  
“What is it?”  
“Irene’s ultrasound,” he said after a small breath “Merry Christmas.”  
“It’s January” Eurus remarked, “And you should go back to her, the babies could come at any time.”  
“Are we really doing this?”  
“Just because it regards your family.”  
“Our family.”  
“Our?” Eurus repeated perplexed, surprised for maybe the second time ever.  
“They are your nieces, whether I like it or not” Sherlock replied with almost a gentle smirk. After that, there were some seconds of silence.  
“Do you plan to keep them from me?”  
“I am not sure yet.” Sherlock said hesitantly "There is no way they will have anything normal in their life in any case so..."  
“Fatherhood is already changing you, brother. You’re becoming softer.”  
“I’m not.”  
“Yes, **_you are_**.”

When he left that day, he felt the strange urge to go back home, to her, _to Irene Jane Elizabeth Adler_ , _the woman_ , ** _his woman._**

  
A couple of days after he returned home to find her, sat on his chair, checking something on her laptop with such a determined gaze that he almost felt sorry to interrupt her.  
 _Almost_.

“What are you looking at?” he asked sitting in front of her with a smirk.  
“Nothing… of your interest” she clarified, putting the PC apart.  
There were some moments of silence in which he simply kept staring at her, inquiring every inch of her body.  
“The lost jewellery of Zar Nicholas?” he asked with a small laugh on his lips.  
“Maybe” she replied without loosing interrupting the eye contact.  
“You’re unbelievable” he exhaled and looked at her, waiting.  
“Is that a compliment?” she challenged him, moving her hands towards his knees “Or an insult?” she continued grubbing his face, enjoying his slight tremor.  
“You still impress _me_ , Miss Adler.”  
“Of course I do” she agreed to reach for his lips “Do not underestimate _me_ , Mr Holmes, such a mistake could be your undoing” the woman whispered provoking him. When she moved to kiss him, he was already moving towards her, their lips pressing together, melting together.

“Why are you staring now?” the woman asked him a couple of hours later, playing with his curly hairs, his hands carelessly finding her hips “I…”  
“You?”  
And at that moment he lifted his face, giving her a small kiss before standing up.

“Happy New Year, Miss Adler” he whispered once he had returned, with a strange gift in his hands.  
“It’s January, Sherlock” she pointed out, taking a small red box from him. She recognised that box immediately, same as the bondage’s laces around it.  
“Is the code still the same, Mister Holmes?” she asked taking out an old object that she used to call “her life”, it seemed a couple of lives before “Is it?”  
“Stop boring me and _think_ ,” he said harshly, but her sudden angry face made him change his tone “ _Mon Amour_.”  
“Just because you said that” she warned him, taking the phone from him, grabbing it eagerly. Then a silence fell between them, only the sound of their breath. After that her voice hissed “Reverse psychology, of course” and with a smirk, she texted the password that had once been her undoing.  
  
“You’re still rather good,” he said smiling, almost admired by her wit.  
“Always,” the woman said with a smirk, meeting his eyes for some seconds.  
“Keep looking” he ordered her, and this time she obeyed silently.

Then a shocked expression appeared on her face. Sherlock had managed what he had always intended, to impress her, as she impressed him.

“What’s this?”  
“What you think it is?”  
“A file.” she exhaled “With my name on it, and pictures, and videos and…” she had to stop for some seconds. A grin appearing on her lips “The _texts_ , obviously”

The more Irene kept scrolling at the files, the more she was feeling a strange sense of _happiness_ , the more she was feeling _overwhelmed_. There were articles about her, and articles where her name did not appear, though her signature was evident, and there were pictures, of her, like the one he had taken her in Karachi while Irene was sleeping. Then there were one or two of them together, and their children’s ultrasound, and videos, and songs. His songs, all the pieces Eurus had talked about. And then again other files, plane tickets, registrations under false names all over the country, postcards, email. He had kept everything, and now _he had given everything to her_ , everything, everything to her phone, her phone that used to be her life, keeping the password that was _her heart._

“You.” she whispered with a half surprised, half amused smile “Sherlock Holmes, the great detective in the funny hat, you are… _sweet_ ”  
“ _Don’t_.”  
“What does this mean?” she asked seriously after a fast laugh, and he took a big breath before answering “You’re divorced.”  
“Yes…”  
“Which means you’re now…”  
“Eligible for marriage?” she completed for him with a mocking tone, but with a gentle smile that Sherlock rarely had seen.  
A smile that encouraged him to finish what he had started “The brother of a British high ranking diplomat would be a smart choice. He would protect you. Even from the stealing of the lost jewellery of Zar Nicholas.”  
“A marriage of interest?”  
“A convenient marriage, but not purely of interest.”  
“How so?”  
“You know _how_ , dearest.”  
“You could say it aloud, you know.”  
“I have been clear enough.” he stated annoyed “Don’t make me say it again, you know I abhor repetition.”

“Fine,” she said at last after some seconds of silence “I believe this particular formality can be arranged.”  
“Can it?”  
“I would like my children to be legitimate anyway.” she clarified smirking “Why do you think I have pushed for such a fast divorce?”  
“You’re a devious woman” Sherlock concluded after a long pause.  
“I am _the devious woman_ ” Irene insisted biting her lips.  
“ _The woman_ ” Sherlock repeated kissing her forehead “ _The woman_.”

“Could you just stop **_fucking_** all day long?” John’s voice echoed through the walls, interrupting them “There are people who _would like to sleep_! Mrs Hudson…”  
“Oh, thank you dearie, but I’ve got used to this two by now” the lady interrupted them “But…” she continued “If you haven’t I could borrow your ear plugs.”  
“Oh _for God’s sake_ …”

And at that moment Irene laughed and then leant on him, their lips finding each other, finding each other’s smiles.


	8. Yes

“She said yes,” Eurus stated the next time he visited.  
It wasn’t a question; there wasn’t any doubt. She was confident, she was saying it. She _**knew**_.

“How…?”  
“The _look on your face_ ” the youngest Holmes replied with a smirk. 

After that, she took her violin and started playing. It was something _new_ , Sherlock tried to understand whether he had heard the piece before, but he hadn’t. _It was entirely new, and that melody was incredible. It showed pain, and anger, and relief, and joy and excitement. It showed **everything**._  
  


“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s for you.” she replied, “And for Irene, for your wedding.”

“It’s lovely” Sherlock hissed genuinely, he had never seen her like this, she almost looked… human “Thank you, sis.”

When he returned to Baker Street that day, he had a strange smile on his lips. He reached the Woman, who was sleeping in their bed, in their room, and hugged her.

He was _**home**_.

The next day Irene woke up to find Sherlock next to her, his eyes focused on the tablet he was holding.  

“What are you doing, darling?” she hissed with a smirk, happy to see him home, already back to her and to their bed. “ _Sherlock_?”  
“Checking on your guest list for the _**event**_ ”  
“The event?” she repeated, trying once again to gain his attention.  
“The _formal ceremony_ that will…” Sherlock explained with an uncertain tone “… _unify us_ in the eyes of the British Government.”  
“I see. And you have any objection?”  
“No”  
“Then?” she asked, urging him to spill whatever was bothering him,“You invited Kate.”

Kate that was his big problem, she was the reason he was looking at her with such a tormented expression. It was absurd. _He was absurd_  

“I did. I invited her”  
“Does it seem… appropriate?” he asked, clearly trying to repress his emotions.  
“Relax” Irene replied, “Probably she won’t even show up.”  
“She’s your..”  
“ _My_ …” she continued amused, a small smile on her lips.  
  


He would have never admitted _how much that invitation **bothered** him_, she knew it, and yet she would have never lost the chance to annoy him.  
  


“Nothing” Sherlock hissed, keeping his eyes on the tablet. He would have never given her such a satisfaction, never.  
“She’s not the only ex I invited if that’s what you’re thinking about.”  
“Is she not?”  
“No” she confirmed and then his expression changed. A name on that list bothered him, maybe even shocked him “Jim’s… _sister_?”  
“Yes” the Woman confirmed, and her confirmation only managed to anger him more “She’s a world-class criminal!”  
“And so? _I was a world-class criminal._ ” Irene remarked “ _That’s **how we met**_ ”  
“And this is how you met her too?” he asked, putting the device apart.  
“Partly.” she agreed with a nod “But Jamie was not in good terms with her brother if that’s what you’re thinking about.”  
“Was she not?”  
“No.” the Woman confirmed rolling her eyes “Moriarties can be quite… _**competitive**_ ”  
“One time you said he was your type.” Sherlock suddenly recalled, “What about his sister?”  
“She’s… intelligent, devious, with a reserve of creativity beyond your imagination.” she hissed, thinking back about another time of her life, a time that was over but not forgotten “I’m sure you’ll like her.”  
“So she _**is**_ coming”  
“Maybe not for the event, but _sooner_ or _later_ ” the brunette whispered with a smirk “She’s still using my name for undercover operations after all.”  
“She’s _**using**_ your name?”  
“In America, _not here_ silly,” Irene said raising her eyebrow with an amused smile and Sherlock laughed in return, amazed.  
The Woman was incredible, fierce, dangerous. And he admired her for that “ _I can’t wait to tell Mycroft.“_

“We make his life more interesting, _he should **thank** us_ ” Irene pointed out as he was moving in her direction, finding space next to her, his finger tracing her belly, his lips on her neck “ _Can you imagine how much trouble our children will cause him?_ ” Sherlock hissed on the crock of her neck and then she couldn’t help but grab him, embrace him, hold him. “I can’t wait to find out”

A couple of weeks later Mycroft Holmes, probably the most powerful man in England, found himself standing in front of his little brother and his future wife, Irene Adler, the former _Dominatrix_ , the Woman that had once brought her nation to its knees. The two of them were discreetly trying to look at each other, both visibly _uncomfortable_ , both incredibly _overwhelmed_. They were really so _**obvious**_ , they almost looked like two teenagers, madly in love with each other, so… boring, and normal, and sentimental.

“Well?” he cried, catching everyone’s attention “Can we start? There are people here that actually _**have a job**_.”

And at that moment both Sherlock and Irene, and probably also the dozen of guests that had decided to attend, started laughing “Ladies first” the great detective whispered, encouraging the Woman to start.

Irene rolled her eyes in return, taking Sherlock’s hand in hers, with a gentle move and firm voice, a golden ring touching the tip of his soon-to-be husband’s fourth finger. Then she took a big breath.

“So here we are, dear Sherlock Holmes, the clever detective in funny hat, or just…. _**Junior**_ , or the father of my children. Whatever, I’m happy to be here, _with you_.” she smiled “You _**challenge** me_ , Sherlock, you _**intrigue** me_ , _**excited** me_ and I thank you for this. Never I would have imagined things would have turned out this way; never I would have _dared_ to imagine to meet someone like you. And to _build a family_? That was even more _**unexpected**_ , but I don’t regret it, I will never regret meeting you, as I hope you’ll never regret meeting me” she made a brief pause then, expecting some laughs, or noises, but their guests were incredibly silent and Irene almost noticed John’s smile, he looked so… Overwhelmed, maybe even proud, then she focused again on her partner “I love you. It might be wrong, it might be dangerous, but I do, and _I won’t stop_. Ever, I can promise you that and what I ask you in return is simple. Life will change us; it already has in just a few months, but… _**we are still here**_ , and _**we are still us**_. So please, just… _stay as you are_ , be the man that could understand my warning even if he had known me for 10 minutes, be the man that risked his life to save mine, the one that made me angry, that exasperated me every-time he didn’t answer my texts, the same one that surprised with secrete _dinners_ after months of silence. The one that was always there when I needed him, _my partner_ , _my equal, my love_. Promise me that”

Sherlock smiled at her, the Woman looked incredible in that wedding dress, her hair falling back on her back, her eyes enlighten from the make up. Then he slipped her golden ring to Irene’s slim finger, avoiding his brother judgemental look. Sherlock could almost _**feel**_ his gaze, as well as their parents, happy and proud of him, and his best man, John, and Lestrade and everyone else. 

He could almost _**feel everyone’s eyes on him**_ , _**everyone’s thoughts,**_ but then Irene Adler’s eyes brought him back, that strange unifying ceremony was not about their guests, it was about her and him, them. Then he took a big breath himself.

“I believe I can promise you that, Woman. If you can bear to… deal with me, with my… _**attitudes**_ , then I can surely promise you, I’ll always be that man. All this situation is absurd, forgive me for dragging you into this.” he made a small pause “We are not like this, we are not pathetic, we don’t believe in happily ever after. But what I believe is that you’re _my perfect match_ , the one that _**pushes me**_ when I need to be pushed, that tell me to shut up when need to… be moderated. You’re… unique, Irene. In my eyes, you… _**eclipse everyone else**_. Mycroft apologized for droving you into my path once, but I don’t need apologies. On the contrary, I should thank him. I am grateful to have you, to have us. You might have changed me, they…” he started, looking at her belly “Might have, but not for the worse. You _**empower**_ me, and I… I just love you, love you so much, even when it hurts, even when…” he hissed, incapable of finding the right words “ _ **I’m forever yours, Woman**_.” she kissed him then, they had said enough words for a lifetime.

_**Five years later** _

“ _ **Nero**_! Are you ready?” Irene cried, looking in the direction of her son’s room “Where is _your sister_?”  
“I don’t know,” the boy said shyly, appearing from behind the door, his eyes avoiding his mother’s gaze. Irene rolled her eyes, two Holmes younger than five, she _should have known_ they would have been _quite_ _challenging_.  
“ _ **Nero Hamish Adler Holmes**_ ” Sherlock said, appearing from behind them “ _You’re a terrible liar._ ” he warned his child, taking a step closer “ _Now tell your mother where your sister is_ ”  
“ _Alexandria_ …” Nero started uncertainly, biting his lips “Is… _assisting to our gift for auntie_.”  
“Is she?” Irene asked smirking amused, her daughter had always been the strongest of her children, surely the one with most spirit of initiative.  
“Lexa!” Sherlock cried, knocking at the children’s room “Lexa!”  
“Just try and be on time, ok sweetie?” Irene said gently “We are leaving in 10 minutes,” and after that she took Sherlock’s hand, leading him away from there “Your kids are unbelievable furies” he grumbled nervously, and Irene laughed, turning in his direction “ _ **My kids**_?” she remarked “ _Your **Holmes** **genes** did that_ ”  
“I see.”  
“Stop worrying, _it will be **fine**_.” she said caressing his cheek, knowing what was really bothering him “ _Eurus adores them, and she adores me_.”  
“ _Everyone adores you_.”  
“ _ **Including**_ _**you**_?” she whispered touching his chin, their breath close “ _ **Especially**_ _**me**_ ” Sherlock concluded filling the gap between them with a kiss, a fast, passionate, affectionate kiss “ _I never thought we would have this_ ,” he said separating from her.   
“ _Is that **sentiment** talking_?” Irene mocked him with a grin, but his expression remained serious “ _No_ , it’s _**me**_. And **_you_**. And _**our children**_.”  
“Will you play it tonight?” the Woman asked with a shy smile after a small pause.  
“What?”  
“ _Me_. _My piece_ ”  
“I’ll play it in a couple of hours probably.” Sherlock replied rolling his eyes “ _She adores to **torture me** with that_.”  
“ _You’ll **survive** , Mr. Holmes_.” she whispered before reaching for his ears “ _And you’ll be repaid for your patience_.”  
“Will I?”  
She nodded then. “It will be a _happy anniversary_ _**Mr. Holmes**_ , I promise.”  
“I believe you _**Mrs. Holmes**_ ” he whispered leaving a small kiss on the top of her nose. He had never been this happy; all the pieces were back together, _everything was going back to him_ , he had it all.

The end.


End file.
